Four hundred couples will be assessed within 1 month prior to marriage and 6, 18, and 30 months after marriage to evaluate the etiology of marital dicord and abuse. The first few years of marriage are often fraught with discord, and we found that in 77% of abusive couples spouse abuse occurred within the first 3 years of marriage. Further, at least 10% of the couples we follow will likely be divorced within 3 years. Thus, a 3-year study will be sufficient to allow for an evaluation of discord and violence. We predict that variables we found of import in our retrospective study (e.g., assertion, alcoholism, and violence in the family of origin) will be of etiological significance for abuse. In addition, we wish to assess the etiological significance of sexual and communication problems, positive and negative behavioral interactions, and several personaliaty traits (e.g., abasement, aggression, defendence, and impulsivity) that are thought to be especialy relevant to abuse. Finally, we wish to compare the effects of assessing couples via questionnaires only and questionnaires plus clinical interviews. The clinical interview will allow us to assess specific coping mechanisms of couples and to provide the flexibility to follow leads regarding temporal sequences of events related to abuse. Further, the clinical interview will allow us to describe interactional patterns of spouses who become abusive.